Slayers: CHOSEN
by Songwind
Summary: Slayers/Mercedes Lackey crossover. The Slayers meet at a reunion when they somehow end up in Valdemar. PLEASE R/R!! Ch. 4
1. Default Chapter

Slayers: CHOSEN  
By Songwind  
Notes- My, what an ORIGINAL title, huh? Well, I wasn't in the mood to wait around for a magnificent title to show up (I never start a story without a title for some reason), so I decided to just stick with this one.   
  
Darian (my Muse): Not that you EVER get magnificent ideas for titles...  
  
(Hits him over the head calmly) That's because you never GIVE me TIME to come up with one! Anyway, this is basically how the Slayers gang end up in Valdemar (many books about it by Mercedes Lackey) and have to help out with some bad guys while showing off magical skills and thus creating chaos. Oh, and they introduce dragon and demon races to Valdemar too (that is, Xellos and Filia come along ^_^). What else happens? Sore wa himitsu desu (That's a secret).   
  
Darian- You mean you haven't a clue.  
  
Shut UP, Darian. Erm, anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you think, OK?  
  
~*~   
  
Chapter One- What's Going On?! No Longer In Seyruun!  
  
Lina rubbed her temples with her fingers, closing her eyes and trying to ignore Gourry for a few minutes so she could calm down. After all, it wasn't very polite to blow up a guest room in the royal palace of Seyruun. Prince Phil, Amelia's father, didn't really approve of Lina being there in the first place anyway. Destroying one of the best guest rooms might make him a little more than angry at her. He might decide to lecture her about JUSTICE.  
  
And what would be worse was that Amelia would be right behind her father about the entire justice thing, but then just get them another room anyway. And Gourry would still be as stupid as he always has been.  
  
Gourry blinked. "Lina, are you alright?"  
  
"I have a headache right now, Gourry."  
  
"Really? That's too bad. We're meeting everyone for that reunion tonight," he said sympathetically. "Is it the time of the month again?"  
  
"BAKA!" She turned and hit him on the head. "NO! You don't get headaches from THAT. I can still use my magic, see?"  
  
She was good enough not to use any destructive magic; she just levitated in the air for a moment to show Gourry she was very capable of hurting him with a Fireball if she wanted to.  
  
Gourry, however, wasn't very good at catching subtle threats, and nodded. "Oh, good. You're always so short tempered when that happens," he said thoughtfully.  
  
Lina, Beautiful Sorceress Genius, clenched her teeth. She forced herself to be contented with the image of Gourry being blown up by a Dragon Slave. It calmed her down a little bit and made her feel a little better, but not by much. "Gourry, here's an idea. Why don't you button your mouth shut until tonight?"  
  
"I don't know, Lina, wouldn't that hurt?" Gourry asked worriedly. "I mean, I'd have to sew on a button and I don't think that would be very comfortable..."  
  
Lina sighed. "I'm going for a walk."  
  
"Great! I'll join you!" he said cheerfully. "Perhaps we'll run into someone we know!"  
  
The sorceress was very tempted to use a Fireball then. But with a great effort she said shortly, "Fine." Then she wandered over to the mirror to make sure she didn't look as mad as she felt right then.  
  
Her long red hair was a wild mane down to her waist, but that was normal. Her black headband was in place, at least, so it wouldn't be too out of place. She wore her normal outfit, a pink outfit with a yellow stripe across her chest area. She still wore the four talismans calling on the four Dark Lords, and her white gloves.   
  
Gourry peered into the mirror behind her, trying to see her expression. Even after the past two years, he had his blonde hair falling almost as long as Lina's, without tying it back or anything. He wore the usual blue garb with armor, but instead of the Sword of Light he'd carried around years ago he had a sword of JUSTICE, that Amelia had kindly given to him. Since it was a gift from a friend, Gourry really didn't mind that she referred to it often and mentioned the idea of making a Hammer of Justice to go around with it. "Lina, you want to get a drink or something for your headache while we're at it?" he asked cheerfully. "Maybe we can stop by at the royal kitchen!"  
  
The idea of food was enough to forget about her being mad at Gourry for being Gourry. "Yes!" She turned and raced out the door to head down towards the kitchen, Gourry eagerly in tow.  
  
Lina then collided right into someone and fell back about a foot, smashing into Gourry and knocking HIM over, and they fell into a little pile on the floor. She got up quickly. "HEY! What's the- ZEL!"   
  
Zelgadis looked down at her gravely, though there was also a hint of amusement in his voice. "Hello, Lina. I see you haven't changed much."   
  
Lina grinned. "It's great to see ya, Zel! Um... any luck?" she asked.  
  
He pulled back his hood, lowered his mask and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I've been wandering around in circles for the past year," he said shortly. "I don't really want to talk about it."  
  
"Sure, sure. Hey, have you talked to Amelia yet?"  
  
"Yes. Actually, I'm surprised I managed to get away from her so quickly. She looked a little preoccupied." He glanced at Gourry. "I see you got a new sword."  
  
Gourry pulled it out and swung it around. "Yeah. Amelia gave it to me. She called it the Sword of Justice."  
  
"And she's going to make a Hammer of Justice," Lina said dryly.  
  
"Good gods, she needs to give it a rest," Zelgadis said, exasperated.   
  
"Well, at least she's doing something productive," Lina pointed out. "I'm sure some blacksmith is going to be bestowed with a new hammer sometime soon. Who knows, when Filia gets here she might make a Mace of Justice so she can REALLY hurt Xellos when HE shows up."  
  
"Maybe she can get ME a Sword of Justice, then, if it would really hurt him," Zelgadis said with a smirk.  
  
"Has he been annoying you?"  
  
"More than you know. HE'S the one who's been leading me in circles. The thing is, I don't listen to him, and I end up going in circles. However, when I DO listen to him, I ALSO go in circles. The only difference is that it's a different circle."  
  
Lina chuckled. "Then he hasn't changed a bit. Is he coming?"  
  
"No doubt. With Filia coming he's certain to come. After all, Xellos would never want to pass up a chance to annoy Filia. Where are you two headed?"  
  
"Down to the kitchens," Lina said.   
  
"I should have known."  
  
"You want to come along?" Lina asked.  
  
"No thanks. I already ate. I'm just going to walk around for a while."  
  
"You sure? Alright. See you tonight at the banquet, then."  
  
Lina and Gourry watched him walk away, then Lina shook her head. "Poor guy. Still a chimera after searching for, what, three or four years at least? You'd think he'd find a way to turn back into a human by now..."  
  
Zelgadis hadn't really changed. He still had his light violet hair that was impossible to deal with, and blue skin that looked like it had little pebbles on certain parts of it. He wore his usual outfit that covered just about everything but his head.  
  
"Well, are we going to eat now?" Gourry asked curiously.  
  
Lina found it very satisfying to hit him over the head. "Jellyfish brains," she muttered. "Come on."  
  
They resumed making their way down to the kitchens, but this time walked instead of running.   
  
When they made it down there, they spent a good hour eating the royal cooks out of house and home, then decided to walk around outside so the cooks wouldn't hurt them for eating so much.  
  
"Ah, I feel better," Lina said, stretching as they walked.  
  
"Miss Lina!" came a girl's voice from behind them.  
  
Lina turned. "Ah, Amelia!"  
  
Amelia, the Princess of Seyruun, came running up to her, excited. "Filia's coming, Miss Lina! The guards can see her flying in now!"  
  
"Great! We'll come greet her!" Lina said.   
  
The group headed towards the gates, and made it just as Filia landed. They waited a moment for Filia to transform herself from her dragon form into her human shape. She was dressed in her old priestess outfit, but without the crest that showed she was actually a priestess.   
  
"Miss Lina, Mister Gourry, Miss Amelia!" Filia said delightedly. "It's so wonderful to see you all again!"  
  
"How have you been, Filia?" Lina asked, smiling.  
  
"Oh, the shop's getting along pretty well. Valgaav's watching it while I'm gone for this."  
  
"Valgaav? But he's only two years old, isn't he?" Lina asked.  
  
"Well... in human years, yes. But the Ancient Dragon race grows very quickly, Miss Lina. To a human eye, he looks and has the maturity of a twelve-year-old boy."  
  
"Twelve year old? I'm not too sure, Filia. Most twelve-year-olds aren't that mature," Lina said worriedly.  
  
"Oh, Valgaav is fairly mature. CERTAIN people haven't corrupted him TOO much yet..." She glared up at the sky.  
  
"You mean a certain Mazoku?" Lina guessed, grinning. "So he's been annoying you, too? Zelgadis said he's been annoying HIM for the past couple years too."  
  
"I don't understand why he can't just leave me alone!" Filia said, exasperated. "Why, he is such a bad example for Val! I mean, he keeps trying to get Val to peek at people bathing-"  
  
"My, but he's at that age you know," came a voice from behind the group. "I'm merely helping him with his education, Filia!"  
  
Filia shrieked and pulled out her Mace. "DIE, NAMAGOMI!"   
  
Xellos took the blow to the head, grinning. "Hello, Filia. I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't make it. You've been putting on so much weight lately, after all, that I thought you might be too out of shape to make the flight-" he was knocked over by the next blow. "You're in a wonderful mood, aren't you?" he stated cheerfully. "Now, Filia, you really ought to control yourself in public, though." He was hit again, and just grinned more.  
  
"UGH!" Filia growled and stalked away with her Mace still in her hands.  
  
"Well, at least we know you two haven't changed much," Lina remarked dryly.  
  
"Of course not, my dear Lina!" Xellos said, getting up and dusting himself off.  
  
"I heard you've been harassing Zelgadis and Filia a lot lately."  
  
"Me? No, never," he protested. "I'm helping Zelgadis around, that's all. And I AM helping young Val with his education."  
  
Lina rolled her eyes. "RIGHT, Xellos, right," she said.   
  
"Oh, Mister Xellos, I'm so happy you could come!" Amelia said with stars in her eyes.  
  
Xellos fell over.  
  
"It's wonderful to know you have time to come to the wonderful Kingdom of Justice to sing our favorite songs with us at dinner tonight!"  
  
"Uh... right..." He rubbed his forehead with a hand. "Amelia, would you mind?"  
  
"No, of course not!" She pulled out a microphone and started singing about happiness and justice.  
  
Xellos started squirming uncomfortably on the ground while Amelia sang happily. Lina, Gourry, and Filia (who had come back during the singing) clapped appreciatively when she finished. Xellos groaned.  
  
"You deserved that," Filia observed.  
  
"I didn't do anything," he mumbled, rubbing his head and getting up, again dusting himself off.   
  
"Well, let's go in and find Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia said. "We can all get the banquet cooking sooner than planned!"  
  
Lina and Gourry cheered, Filia smiled faintly, and Xellos just ^_^.  
  
~*~ Later ~*~  
  
Lina leaned back in her chair. "Aaah!" she sighed, stretching her arms over her head. "That was great, Amelia."  
  
"I'm so glad you liked it, Miss Lina!" Amelia said happily, glowing. "The cooks have been planning for this night for the past month, getting food and such!"  
  
"Wow, that much preparation huh?" Lina asked.  
  
"Well, yeah, considering you and Mister Gourry were coming," Amelia answered.  
  
Lina sweat-dropped. "Uh..."  
  
"Yes, well, why don't we all walk around outside in the courtyard?" Amelia asked, clapping her hands. "We can talk about everything!"  
  
The group agreed. Xellos sat there sipping his drink of water (he hadn't touched the food) and looked up. "Is there a chance we could walk on the outer parts of the palace grounds?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"What for, Mister Xellos?"  
  
He wagged a finger. "Sore wa himitsu desu!"  
  
Everyone fell over. Zelgadis grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "What are you up to, Xellos?" he growled.  
  
"Nothing!" Xellos replied innocently.  
  
"I'm warning you..."  
  
"I just want some ice cream, jeez," Xellos said, pouting slightly.  
  
Everyone fell over again.  
  
"Fine, then," Amelia said. "It's only late afternoon, the ice cream places should still be open!"  
  
Xellos grinned. "Then I shall be happy to accompany you!"  
  
Filia picked up her mace, muttering. Zelgadis glared, then dropped Xellos and turned away.   
  
~*~ A few minutes later ~*~  
  
After Xellos got his ice cream, the group wandered around the palace grounds, talking about little things they'd done for the past couple of years. Filia talked enthusiastically about her antique and mace shop, and Xellos would add his own ideas about it. Then of course, Filia would hit him on the head with her mace, and he'd go back to his ice cream. Amelia talked about how they'd made more alliances with smaller kingdoms, showing them the way of JUSTICE. Lina told them about her beating up bandits.  
  
Zelgadis walked along a little behind the group, his arms folded. His mask was up again, and he stared at the ground in front of him.  
  
The group finally finished talking when the sun was setting. Amelia glanced up at the sky. "We'd better head back to the castle. Tomorrow's an early day for the people of JUSTICE!" she said, striking a pose.  
  
The group sweat-dropped. "Right, of course, Amelia," Lina said, shrugging.  
  
They headed towards the castle when a sound from the nearby woods made them all pause. It wasn't a sound from any animals in the woods, either.  
  
Gourry unsheathed his sword and Zelgadis touched the hilt of his. Filia hefted her mace. Amelia prepared a speech for justice, and Lina prepared a spell in her mind. Xellos hung back, watching curiously while finishing yet another ice cream (his fifth).   
  
"Ripping the stars apart..."  
  
Lina quickly began to mutter a spell for protection.  
  
"...Searching the heavens..."  
  
Zelgadis tightened his grasp on his sword, readying the spell for enchanting his sword.  
  
"...Thou shalt be sent..."  
  
Xellos tilted his head, frowning slightly. It wasn't a spell he'd heard before, and he still couldn't see the person- or whatever- that was saying the spell.  
  
"FLEEING WORLD!"  
  
There was a bright light suddenly, and Lina and the others had to shield their eyes...  
  
~*~  
  
When Lina opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she saw.  
  
She was still standing in the same position as she had been when trying to shield her eyes from that weird light, but she wasn't standing on a paved path in Seyruun.  
  
In fact, there wasn't a single paved path to see. They were surrounded by woods.  
  
Lina turned to see the others standing around her, looking equally bewildered. "Is everyone alright?" she demanded.  
  
Everyone nodded, and cautiously looked around.   
  
"Where are we?" Zelgadis demanded.  
  
"Hmm. Fleeing World," Xellos said thoughtfully. "An interesting spell. It appears we are far away from Seyruun."  
  
"No, really?!" Lina shouted at him. "The question is where we ARE, not where we AREN'T!"  
  
"Well, if we're not in Seyruun that's one possibility we don't have to consider for the answer," he answered glibly.  
  
"FIREBALL!"  
  
Xellos shrugged the spell off.  
  
"Well, no matter where we are, I can't recognize anything around here," Zelgadis stated. "Even the trees are different."  
  
Lina looked around more carefully and realized that Zelgadis was right. True, they WERE trees and grasses. However, the trees were huge, reaching high up into the sky and thicker at the base than any trees she'd ever seen. The grasses' shades of green looked a little... off, too, on closer inspection.   
  
"Wow. We must at least be on the other side of the world!" Lina said, amazed.  
  
"Hmm. I don't think that's the spell's meaning," Xellos said.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"It was called 'fleeing world'. My guess is that we are on an entirely different planet," he said, shrugging.  
  
"And even THAT doesn't upset you?!" Lina shouted.  
  
"Not really. I mean, if we could come here, then we can easily go back, right?" he said.  
  
"Arrrrghh..." Lina growled, clenching her fists.  
  
"Oh, my, did I say something wrong?" Xellos asked.  
  
"Just shut up, Xellos, before you get hurt," Lina answered.  
  
"If you wish."  
  
"Hmm. So should we assume he's right?" Amelia asked.  
  
"Well, wherever we are, I think our spells still work," Lina answered. "I mean, my Fireball worked fine."  
  
"We should test some other spells," Zelgadis suggested. "That way we won't be surprised if we have to fight anyone here. After all, the people here- if there are any- may or may not be hostile towards strangers."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Let's just keep it at defensive spells, though," Zelgadis said quickly. "No need to Dragon Slave the entire area."  
  
"I suppose you're right. I can just Fireball them or something."  
  
"Well, we're not getting anything done by just sitting here," Amelia said. "I'll go above the trees and look for a town or something. Levitation!"  
  
Amelia floated upwards towards the sky. The others watched her, sometimes looking around themselves in case someone or something might be approaching.   
  
"Amelia, see anything?" Lina yelled up.  
  
"There's a town not too far from here!" Amelia called down. "I think we can make it today on foot if we wish. It looks to be about midday now."  
  
"Well, that's a stroke of luck, at least," Lina said. "Let's hope the people there are friendly-"  
  
"Oh!"  
  
The group turned.  
  
A woman was sitting on a deer with a hand to her mouth in surprise. She stared at them with wide eyes. She had a long braid of blonde hair over one shoulder and her eyes were blue-green. She wore a green tunic and some doeskin breeches, and some boots of a material Lina couldn't place.   
  
As for the deer...  
  
Lina looked down to see that the deer was a very deformed one. It had four legs, hooves, and antlers. However, the antlers didn't branch off, and its head looked different. It looked... intelligent.  
  
:Why, thank you,: came a dry voice.  
  
"WHAT?!" Lina shouted in surprise.  
  
"Lina, what is it?" Gourry asked, readying his sword.  
  
"I... you didn't hear that?" Lina asked incredulously.  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
:He cannot hear me. I think, however, that the rest of you can.:  
  
"Ack!" Lina pointed at the deer. "You're talking in my head!"  
  
"Miss Lina's gone mad, hasn't she?" Filia asked worriedly.  
  
:If she has, then everyone here but the swordsman there is insane as well,: the voice said to Filia.  
  
"WHA?!"  
  
:Calm down, and stop talking aloud. Think your thoughts at either myself or Keisha here. We can both Mindspeak, and apparently we speak different languages.:  
  
:Mindspeak?: Lina asked, remembering to think it.  
  
:No need to shout, either. Yes, Mindspeech is what we are using at this moment.:  
  
:I thought the girl cast telepathy when I wasn't looking.:  
  
:Cast what?:  
  
:Telepathy. When you can link minds with each other and you can hear each other's thoughts.:  
  
:Ah. I've not heard of that. We've only been using Mindspeech.:  
  
:Huh, must be a new variation of Telepathy, then,: Lina decided.  
  
:So where are we?: Zelgadis demanded, 'loudly' enough so that everyone (except Gourry) could hear him.  
  
:You are in the forest between the Vale and Errold's Grove,: came a different voice. :I am Keisha, the local Healer. Who are all of you? And... are you ill, sir?: she addressed Zelgadis.  
  
:I don't want to talk about it,: he thought darkly.  
  
:My, my, Zelgadis, do be nice to the young woman here,: Xellos said cheerfully in their minds. :I am Xellos, the Mysterious Priest,: he announced with a bow.  
  
:Hello, then, Xellos,: Keisha said gravely.   
  
:And, what kingdom is this Errold's Grove in?: Lina asked curiously.  
  
:In Valdemar, of course.:  
  
:Huh. Never heard of it.:  
  
:Huh? Everyone's heard of Valdemar.:  
  
:We haven't. We're from Seyruun.:  
  
:The KINGDOM OF JUSTICE!: Amelia 'declared', striking a dramatic pose. She had landed when everyone had been focusing on the girl. The girl didn't see her until she did that pose.  
  
Everyone, including the deer, sweat-dropped.  
  
:Well, we haven't heard of Seyruun. Is it a smaller kingdom, to the north perhaps?: Keisha asked. She was frowning slightly.  
  
:Everyone's heard of Seyruun where we come from!: Lina said. :It's one of the largest kingdoms there is! So, apparently, Xellos' guess is correct...:  
  
:No wonder we speak different languages then, if that's the case,: Zelgadis said thoughtfully.  
  
:Well, I'm not sure who you all are or if you're really from this Seyruun, wherever that is, but why don't you come with me to the Vale. I can talk to Starfall, Firesong and Silverfox about this and maybe we can help you out.:  
  
:Great! Thanks,: Lina said cheerfully.  
  
There was a pause. Gourry then asked, "So what's going on?"  
  
Everyone fell over.  
  
~*~ 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two- Talking Deer, Huge Birds and Mages Oh, My!  
Notes- Um, nothing really right now. But thanks for looking at this, I know there aren't many of you who read/like reading Mercedes Lackey.  
  
~*~  
  
After the group explained to Gourry about how they were going to go with this odd young woman and her talking deer to the Vale, whatever that was, the group started following the girl and her deer through the woods.  
  
:Excuse me,: Lina asked at one point, :but how can you talk?: She was addressing the deer.  
  
:I am not a deer, as you think I am,: it replied. :I am a dyheli. We are similar to deer, I suppose, in our physical attributes, but we can 'speak', and deer cannot. My name is Rondi.:  
  
:Oh, uh, hello Rondi. I hope I didn't offend you!: Lina said, attempting to be polite.  
  
:People rarely see dyheli, so it is fine.:  
  
:So are you a monster?:  
  
:A Changed One, you mean? Havens, no!: the dyheli replied, slightly amused. :We started being quite a few generations ago.:  
  
:Oh...:  
  
The group walked on, more or less in silence for a while. Even Xellos' curiosity was piqued, so Filia managed to enjoy her walk through the woods without being completely annoyed by him at all, which needless to say was extremely rare. Above them they heard unfamiliar birds calling to one another from time to time, and saw movements in the trees.  
  
At one point, Amelia pointed up. "Look that that!" she cried. "It's a giant owl!"  
  
Everyone looked up except for the young woman and her deer- er, dyheli. They sat there watching the group of strangers with amusement as they stared up incredulously at the huge bird.  
  
:Those are some of the bond-birds around here. Do not be afraid. They don't harm anyone who isn't a threat to them. They'll just watch us.: Keisha's thoughts rang clearly in everyone's minds, except for Gourry of course.  
  
Lina related the message to Gourry as they continued to walk, and after a minute or two he more or less understood what the giant birds were doing.  
  
After a moment, Lina looked up sharply as though she'd been hit. "We've... we just crossed a barrier of some sort!" she exclaimed. "It's so warm out here now!"  
  
"I noticed it too," Zelgadis said. "It seemed to be a wall of some sort."  
  
"Hmm, very interesting," was Xellos' only comment.  
  
:We have just entered the edge of the Vale. Please, you all have to wait here until I get Darian, Starfall, and Firesong and Silverfox. I'll be right back.:  
  
Keisha and the dyheli disappeared a moment later. That was really the only word for it- one moment they were standing there, the next they were nowhere to be seen. The group collectively blinked, and looked around.  
  
"A Vale?" Amelia mused aloud. "I wonder if that's a settlement of some sort?"  
  
"I don't think so. It just looks like a rainforest in here," Lina said with a frown. "I don't see any houses."  
  
"Maybe they're hidden with magic or something?" Zelgadis asked. "Apparently they do have magic, but it... feels... differently from anything I've ever felt or seen."  
  
"It smacks of mystery," Lina said needlessly.  
  
:We were hoping you'd think that,: 'thought' a male 'voice'.  
  
The group turned to see the girl Keisha leading four men with her. And... Lina's mouth dropped open. They were GORGEOUS! All of them had beautiful long hair, like Gourry's, except they were either pure silver or streaked silver. But the odd thing was, none of them were that old except for one, and he looked fairly ancient. The others looked very young. Twenties, maybe.   
  
One of the men, dressed in an extravagant ruby-red robe with emerald green patterns on various parts of the robe, bowed somewhat mockingly to them. :I am Firesong, travelers. Firesong k'Treva.:  
  
:I am Darian Firkin k'Vala k'Valdemar,: another male voice sounded. The plainest of the four men nodded to them.   
  
:I am Starfall,: said a third voice, and the old man bowed to them.  
  
:I am the kestra'chern Silverfox,: said the fourth man, which was the one in an emerald green outfit that complemented Firesong's robe.  
  
:We heard from Keisha that you found yourselves in the woods, and you do not speak any language she knows. However, I must ask. Do you speak Valdemaran?:  
  
:Uh...: Lina blinked.  
  
:I can see you don't know what that is. Obviously, you do not know Tayledras, so certainly not Kaled'a'in or Shin'a'in. Are you from a barbarian tribe, perhaps?:  
  
:We are not! We are from Seyruun, the KINGDOM OF JUSTICE!: Amelia shouted in everyone's mind. Everyone looked up to find her posing dramatically in a nearby tree.  
  
:How did she get up there so quickly...?: Firesong mused 'aloud'.  
  
Amelia continued, :Seyruun, the white Kingdom of JUSTICE, only uses magic of JUSTICE!:  
  
:I'm guessing this young lady refers to justice often?: Silverfox's amused 'voice' came to Lina. She nodded slowly.  
  
:Well, as interesting as this all is, we must know who you are, and why you are here,: Darian said with a polite nod to them. :Keisha did not impart your names.:  
  
:I'm Lina Inverse, the beautiful sorceress!: Lina said.  
  
:Zelgadis,: the chimera said shortly.  
  
:Princess Amelia of Seyruun!: Amelia 'cried out' passionately.  
  
:I am former Priestess of the Golden Dragons, Filia Ul Copt,: Filia answered with a small curtsy.  
  
:I am Xellos, the Mysterious Priest!: Xellos said cheerfully into everyone's minds.  
  
:...And you?: The one called Darian nodded at Gourry.  
  
Gourry was very confused at this point. He hadn't a clue what was going on. Why was everyone just staring at each other? It was like they were all talking but he couldn't hear them or something. What... what if someone had spelled him into being deaf?!  
  
"LINA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU ALL!" Gourry hollered, hoping to get their attention.  
  
Lina promptly hit him on the head with her fist. "GOURRY NO BAKA!"  
  
"OWOWOWOW!" He clutched at his head.  
  
:He can't hear us,: Lina said apologetically.   
  
:I was wondering. Who is he?:  
  
:Gourry Gabriev. He's my guardian.:  
  
:Ah. Well, why are you here?:  
  
:Actually, we're not sure. We went out to walk around the castle and get ice cream and stuff-:  
  
:I beg your pardon,: Starfall interrupted. :What is ice cream?:  
  
Lina and Xellos looked at him in horror. :YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT ICE CREAM IS?!: both mindspoke incredulously.  
  
:No. Should I?:  
  
:Ah, a vanilla ice cream cone with fudge,: Xellos said with a wistful sigh.  
  
:Um, and a cherry on top, and sprinkles,: Lina added.  
  
:Two scoops of it.:  
  
:Three.:  
  
:Four.:  
  
:Excuse me again. You were saying, Mistress Lina?:  
  
:Well, we were wandering around when someone starting saying a spell, and next thing we knew we were talking to some weird deer and some girl in our heads.: Lina shrugged. :That's basically it.:  
  
The four men withdrew to discuss vocally to each other, and from time to time the girl added something in. The tongue they spoke in was smooth and quick, seeming to roll right off the tongue. Finally, they returned their eyes to the group before them.  
  
:You are being perfectly honest with us, that is clear. We must ask another question. Are you here- or were you ever planning- to do harm to wherever you were going?:  
  
:No. We wanted to eat and talk to each other,: Lina said with a shrug.  
  
:ABOUT JUSTICE!: Amelia said in their minds.  
  
:We have the idea, dear,: Silverfox 'said' gently.  
  
:Very well. Speaking this way is getting tiresome, so we will aid you... in a way.:  
  
:In a way?: Zelgadis asked flatly.  
  
Darian glanced at Starfall, who nodded, and looked at Zelgadis. :Yes. We will give you the Valdemaran language so we may speak vocally. Would that please you?:  
  
:Forgive me, Master Darian,: Filia said politely, :but a language can take years to learn.:  
  
:We have a way that will take only a few moments. I warn you, you will have a horrid headache after that, but we can remedy that. Will you accept our aid?:  
  
Lina glanced at the others. "What do you think?"  
  
"What is going ON?!" Gourry demanded. "Are we going to fight them or what?!"  
  
"Gourry, you ARE a real baka." As quickly as possible, Lina explained. "We're going to learn a language so we can all talk to these people, OK?"  
  
"Lina, I'm not that stupid. Languages take forever to learn. Heck, it takes people a couple years from being an infant to toddler to learn one language!"  
  
"I know, but they say they've got a way to teach us a language in a few minutes."  
  
"Well... Alright, but let's be careful," Gourry said.  
  
"I don't like this," Zelgadis stated. "We're in unfamiliar territory, and I suspect this 'other way' has something to do with magic. And what will we have to pay in return for this aid? I don't like having strangers just giving me things. They always have a reason."  
  
"Oh, you're just too suspicious," Xellos said with a grin. "Very well, we all shall learn the language."  
  
Lina nudged Zelgadis. "We might find magical spells. Do you want him to get his hands on them first because he can talk his way and you can't?" Lina whispered.  
  
Zelgadis glared. "Damn you all. Very well."  
  
"Does everyone else agree?" Lina asked, looking around. The others nodded. She turned back to the waiting group. :We accept it.:  
  
:Then follow me. Tyrsell will be giving you the language.: Darian began to walk away. The other men and the girl Keisha walked off in their own directions.  
  
Lina followed him.   
  
~*~  
  
"THIS is Tyrsell?!" Lina asked incredulously.  
  
Darian blinked. :Forgive me, but what did you say?:  
  
:No offense, but I didn't expect another, uh, whatever you guys are called,: Lina said to Tyrsell.  
  
Tyrsell was another of those odd deer. He calmly watched her, and nodded. :You do not seem familiar with nonhumans, so I can understand your confusion. However, worry not. I can quite easily give you all the language of Valdemar. I just wish you all to sit on the ground in a line, so we may do this quickly. I have to lead the other dyheli to the next clearing soon or they shall become restless.: He pawed the ground.  
  
:Um, alright...:  
  
Everyone, including Gourry, sat down on the grass.  
  
:Now look into my eyes...:  
  
For a moment, the world disappeared.  
  
When Lina came to, she was lying on the grass and moaning slightly. Darian stood over her, holding out a hand to help her up.  
  
"Sorry about that," he said aloud apologetically. "But this is the best way to do it. We could just spell you, but this way you can get the entire language at once, and as if you were born learning it. You don't have to translate anything at all."  
  
Lina blinked. "Hey, it's like I'm speaking my own language, but I'm not!" she said, trying out the language. Then she moaned and clutched at her head.  
  
Darian chuckled. "Don't fear, we sent for teas to rid the headaches for everyone, provided they come to soon," he said.  
  
She took his hand and was pulled up, and she looked to see Tyrsell look at her.  
  
"Uh, thanks," she said, not sure how to act towards a deer- er, dyheli.  
  
He just bowed his head once at her, then at the group in general, then trotted off without a word.  
  
"Let us wake your other friends."  
  
Of course, Xellos was the only one grinning when they all came to again. "My, what an interesting experience!" he exclaimed.  
  
"What a PAINFUL experience!" Filia shot back. "I feel like my head's been hit with a mace repeatedly."  
  
"I've heard of certain dragons who hit themselves over the head because they miss their real target. Which explains why so many aren't quite as bright as they used to be a thousand years ago, the poor dears," Xellos said.  
  
"YOU DIRTY LITTLE-" Filia forgot about her headache completely. Tail sticking out, she grabbed her mace and started chasing him around.  
  
Darian blinked. "Well." He blinked again. "Uh, may I guess that this Mistress Filia is a 'dragon'?"  
  
"She is the last Golden Dragon," Lina explained.   
  
"Forgive me, but I've never seen a dragon before. I don't believe they have ever existed before now."  
  
"Oh, she's the last of them where we come from."  
  
Darian's eyes grew thoughtful.  
  
"Oh, what in the name of justice happened to me?" Amelia groaned. "Someone knocked me out when I didn't know it! How unjust!"  
  
"Actually, it's a symptom of getting the Valdemaran language," Darian said, somewhat exasperated.  
  
"...Oh."  
  
Gourry, oddly enough, also wasn't harmed when he woke up. But then, Lina thought, he didn't have too much of a brain for pain to really register very often.  
  
"When are we eating?" he asked blankly.  
  
Lina hit him on the head hard enough to cause him a headache.  
  
At that point Keisha came carrying a tray of six mugs of something hot and steaming. She set it down on the grass. "Everyone, please take one and drink it all," she said. "It tastes awful, but it'll definitely rid you of the headache so quickly you won't remember it being there in the first place."  
  
Lina blinked, looked at her mug of tea, then shrugged. She pinched her nose, and gulped it all down-  
  
- and dropped the mug, gasping at the nasty taste.  
  
Filia gagged, but managed it down. Gourry didn't really need it, but he drank it all anyway and said it didn't taste too bad (at this point Darian and Keisha stared at him blankly). Xellos politely told Keisha the thought was appreciated but not needed. Zelgadis took it without comment or expression. Amelia muttered about the injustice of it all, but drank it.   
  
Finally, Darian nodded. "Now, perhaps you can explain to us where you are from. And also," his eyes grew thoughtful. "We would like to talk about how you learned your magic. For five of you have impressive powers."  
  
Lina shrugged. "Sure."  
  
"Please, follow me. We will get food, then we will have a meeting to speak about this," Darian said.  
  
The group could only nod and follow.  
  
~*~ 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three- Conferences Can Become Very Interesting  
Notes- Wow, I completely didn't expect any reviews, and here I have what, six now? Thank you all for reviewing. It's so cool to know I'm not crazy and that other people approve of these ideas... Anyway, please, keep letting me know what you think, OK? Here goes chapter three...  
  
~*~  
  
Darian led the way to a clearing in the Vale, from time to time glancing back at the odd group that Keisha had brought in. Her information about them was very limited, only that she hadn't sensed anyone one moment, and the next she and Rondi were running right into these people!  
  
Well, perhaps 'people' was the wrong term. Beings, maybe? For a couple of them were bursting with the Mage Gift, and he marveled at how they managed to keep from exploding from the power. Mostly, the power came from the redhead girl and the odd man with violet hair.  
  
As he thought of the man- Xellos, was it?- the man in question looked up and winked at him, by way of opening one eye. Darian turned quickly away and frowned. He hadn't really realized it, but Xellos hadn't had his eyes open until that wink. Was he blind? But he seemed to be able to tell where he was going... perhaps that was because of his incredible Mage Gift?  
  
But there was something that felt wrong about his Gift... almost as if it was tainted, or corrupted by an outside force.   
  
Darian paused for an instant. If he had been even a little less sensitive about morals, he would have probed the man's thoughts to see what was really going on. He would have probed all of them, but... well, for one, he didn't dare. If they were foreigners from another country that might be good allies in times of war, then he daren't offend them. For another, he wasn't quite sure he'd want to. The girl and the man both glowed in Mage Sight as brightly as a node, or almost as brightly.  
  
As for the others... the girl with black hair seemed to have some power. He guessed her to be somewhere between Journeyman status and Master. The last female, the 'dragon', was definitely Master. The man Gourry, the blonde, barely glowed at all. And the last one...  
  
Darian couldn't help but glance back again, this time at the silent figure almost completely covered in clothing. He even wore a mask, but those eyes were always brooding, always seeming to challenge anyone who met those eyes.   
  
And was it a trick of the light, or did Darian see a lock of violet hair from his head as well, underneath that hood? And BLUE skin?   
  
Dragons. His head spun. A humanlike being with a tail. But now, if one looked at the girl, she didn't even seem to have a tail. Could she... change between forms, maybe? A daunting thought. What, then, would a 'dragon' look like?   
  
He then heard his bondbird call from above, :I come.: Feeling slightly better that he would not be entirely alone in leading these folk for the remainder of the walk, he held up a hand to make the group pause.  
  
"Please, wait a moment. My bondbird Kuari is coming in."   
  
"Bondbird?" Lina asked, puzzled.  
  
Darian smiled and held out an arm. :Come in, Kuari.:  
  
The huge eagle-owl landed on his arm, and turned to face the others. :Strangers.:  
  
:Strangers,: he agreed.  
  
:No danger,: Kuari reflected thoughtfully. :Maybe if annoyed bees. None else.:  
  
Darian blinked in surprise. :Are you sure?:  
  
:Sure,: Kuari said, flapping his wings a little to stay balanced.  
  
Well, this was new. Bondbirds, however intelligent, rarely understood things that well.   
  
He decided to think about that later. "This is Kuari," he said slowly in Valdemaran. "He's an eagle-owl bondbird."  
  
"Amazing, he's so huge," Filia said quietly.   
  
The man Gourry frowned. "So he's a 'Kuari'?" he asked slowly.  
  
"BAKA!" The girl Lina stated. "The bird's NAME is Kuari, Gourry."  
  
"Oh." A long pause. "So what is his species?"  
  
Darian sighed. He had never had to deal with someone who had such a low... intelligence before. "An eagle-owl."  
  
"So he's both?"  
  
"I... suppose you could say that."  
  
"Why are they so large?"   
  
A good question, actually. "We bred them long ago to be this big."  
  
"What good is there in that?" Lina asked.  
  
"They can still fly silently, and hunt as well as any other bird, but they are a much better ally in battle, for one thing," he pointed out.  
  
"Ah."  
  
They continued walking along, and finally came upon the clearing.   
  
"Starfall!" he called in Tayledras. "Here come the strangers. They have been given Valdemaran, so they cannot understand Tayledras."  
  
"Good reasoning, Dar'ian. We need a language to ourselves for a change," Starfall said with a faint smile.   
  
"They will need a translator-"  
  
"No need at all. We are only going to be those who can speak Valdemaran anyway, so have no fear. Firesong, Silverfox, Snowfire, Keisha, and myself will be here with you. We will speak with the others later about this."  
  
"Good," Darian said with relief. He turned to the others and switched back to Valdemaran. "We usually speak our own language, Tayledras, but everyone here will be able to understand and speak Valdemaran," he explained.   
  
"Good," Lina said.  
  
They couldn't sit in the normal half circle facing one person, since there were six in the strangers' group. Instead, they had two lines of six facing each other- the six Tayledras and the six strangers.  
  
Darian took a breath, waiting for the strangers to settle themselves. Lina was in the center with the hooded man. To the right of them sat Filia and Amelia, and the other sat Xellos and Gourry. When they were settled, he said, "Let's begin."  
  
~*~ Lina ~*~  
  
She glanced at Zelgadis before returning her gaze to the plainer man. "Do we get to ask questions too?" she asked.  
  
"You may, but I cannot guarantee that we will answer," was the reply. "Now, Keisha has gotten a map of the world, and we wish you to show us where you come from. If you do not recognize a country, you do have leave to ask."  
  
The girl Keisha unrolled a map and set it before the group. Lina frowned slightly. If she hadn't just learned Valdemaran, she wouldn't have been able to read it. Apparently reading the language came with speaking it. A good thing, as far as she was concerned. She didn't want to waste time learning to read the language.   
  
Then her frown grew, from a different thing entirely. "I don't know ANYTHING on this map!" she exclaimed, and glanced at the others.  
  
Everyone but Xellos agreed. He sat there looking like his usual smug self, except from time to time he'd glance around, as though taking note of placing.  
  
"Nothing?" Darian asked, in surprise. "But, what about the shapes of the countries? Perhaps we use a different name-"  
  
"There is nothing here any of us recognize," Lina said firmly.   
  
"What of you?" Darian asked Xellos. "Do you recognize anything?"  
  
"Of course he doesn't. He just likes to look mysterious," Filia said stiffly.  
  
"Now, Filia! Is that any way to treat your friend?" Xellos protested, grinning.  
  
"You are NOT my friend. You just STAY right there in your spot, namagomi."  
  
"Namagomi? Pray tell, what that means?" Firesong asked.  
  
Filia told him, and Firesong blinked. "Oh."  
  
"It's her pet name for me," Xellos said.  
  
The dragon pulled her Mace out of nowhere. "You just shut up!"  
  
"Alright, alright," Silverfox soothed. "Please, let us continue the discussion, hmm? So there is nothing you recognize. That either implies that you are lying, that you are ignorant of the world, or that you are telling the truth, and as odd as it sounds, that means you are from another world."  
  
"Well, someone cast a spell when we were out walking around," Lina said. "It was called 'Fleeing World.'" Then her eyes narrowed. "And we are NOT lying. Try using Telepathy if you wish."  
  
"...Telepathy?"  
  
She blinked. "Yeah, what you call Mindspeech. We call it Telepathy ourselves. Though it's amazing how we have to cast the spell, and we never saw you or anyone ever cast it."  
  
"Mindspeech... is not a spell, Miss," Starfall said now.   
  
"What do you mean? It's magic, isn't it?"  
  
"..." The Tayledras glanced at each other. "It is mind-magic, but no, it is not REAL magic, the magic of illusions or such," Darian said.   
  
"Mind-magic? Never heard of it, and I'm a full-fledged sorceress."  
  
"And I am a sorceror as well," Zelgadis stated quietly, "yet I have not heard that term either."  
  
"Nor I," Amelia said, looking subdued. "I mean, I only trained in defensive and healing spells, white magic to protect my kingdom, but Telepathy is hardly an offensive spell."  
  
"Same here," Filia said firmly.  
  
Xellos sat there, grinning.  
  
Lina reached over and hit him. "Don't act like you know what's going on, you're as deep in this as the rest of us!" she said sharply in their own language.  
  
Xellos shrugged. "Perhaps, perhaps not."  
  
"What are you saying, Mazoku?" Zelgadis demanded.   
  
"That, my friends," he said, switching back to Valdemaran, "is a secret."  
  
Filia's fingers twitched over her Mace.   
  
"I'm warning you, Xellos," Zelgadis said.  
  
"Ah, just ignore him," Lina said. "He's never going to say anything if it makes him look less like a monster."  
  
Gourry sat there looking dumbfounded, as usual. Lina didn't even try with him.  
  
"I see." Darian blinked, and considered their answer. "Well, you invite us to use- ah, Telepathy- so we will take your word for granted. As hard as it is to believe, that only leaves the third option. That you are from another world."  
  
"But the question is, why someone would cast a spell like that on us?" Lina mused.  
  
"We WERE in Seyruun, one of the bigger kingdoms, but... there are other large kingdoms searching for more power," Zelgadis stated. "And as we were the only ones in Seyruun who would have used offensive spells..."  
  
"Are you suggesting someone's trying to take over Seyruun, Mister Zelgadis?!" Amelia demanded.  
  
He shrugged. "It's just a possibility. You never know. Some idiot with powers he doesn't realize might have just found a magic book, too, and was just trying one of the spells out."  
  
"No," Lina said. "You have to understand the spell to cast it."  
  
"True, but he might not have known how much power it would have taken," Zelgadis pointed out.  
  
"True," she admitted.  
  
"I apologize for interrupting," Starfall said. "I seem to be doing that a lot lately, but we must speak of this magic. How powerful would you all say you were?" Then he said dryly, "Even though I'm not quite so sure about where you say you're from, let's just pretend we all believe it."  
  
"Well, we were the ones to call upon the power of the gods, the Mazoku, and the five Weapons of Light," Lina said. "But that was a pretty close call."  
  
Darian looked impressed. Firesong looked skeptical. Silverfox had a thoughtful look on his face, while Starfall remained impassive. Keisha frowned slightly, also in thought.  
  
"Perhaps, we should have asked what CLASSES of magic you are in," Starfall said.  
  
"Classes? Well, Zelgadis, Xellos and I all use black magic," Lina said. "Amelia and Filia use white, and obviously Gourry doesn't have any magic. He did have a magic sword once, the Sword of Light, but that's not really HIS magical power, you know?"  
  
"No, no." Darian shook his head. "He means, Adept, Master, Journeyman, that sort of thing. A couple of you have the feel of powerful Adepts, and the rest of you Masters, or somewhere between Journeyman and Master."  
  
"I'm guessing that Adept is the highest?" Lina asked. Darian nodded.  
  
"Yes. We call a person an Adept if they can use nodes AND ley-lines."  
  
Lina gave him a bewildered look. "What the heck's a node, and what's a ley-line?"  
  
Darian blinked. "You don't know?!"  
  
~*~ Darian ~*~  
  
This was getting more confused by the moment. "You don't know what a ley-line is?" he asked. "OR a node?"  
  
"No, and neither do I," Zelgadis said. "I'm assuming we should?"  
  
"Yes, you definitely should," Darian said. "What with all the power you carry-" he caught himself and took a breath. "Alright. When you go into a trance, do you ever see everything covered with a kind of green glow?"  
  
The mages in the group considered it, while Gourry continued to sit there and look bewildered at everything in general. Darian wondered if that was his usual expression, or if he was just wearing it because of his current situation. After all, here he was, the only non-mage or non-healer (like Keisha) in the group, in (possibly) an entirely different world. No wonder.  
  
"Well, sometimes we can see a particularly powerful person glow, but not always with green," Lina finally said.  
  
Darian glanced at the others. :Let's see if they at least know how to ground and center, that sort of thing.: "Well," he said aloud, "what kind of magic CAN you do?"  
  
"Oh, a number of things," Lina said with a shrug. "Fireball, Flare Arrow, Balus Wall, Dam Brass, Levitation, Dragon Slave, Ragna Blade, Giga Slave..." She shrugged.  
  
"Would you care to show us one of your spells, so that we may see how it works?" Darian requested.  
  
Lina smiled faintly. "Why, of course I can," she said with a grin.  
  
The others got very wary. Darian wondered what she was up to as she stood. Amelia tugged her pant leg. "Miss Lina, it's such a beautiful forest!" she exclaimed. "You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?"  
  
"A Dragon Slave in the forest is NOT a good idea, Lina," Zelgadis said firmly.  
  
"C'mon, you guys sound like I don't know any better or something!" Lina said, turning to look at them. "No, I'm only going to do a Levitation one or something."  
  
"Oh." The group visibly relaxed. Darian made a mental note to find out soon what a 'Dragon Slave' was.  
  
"Here we go. Levitation!" Lina jumped up into the air-  
  
-and continued to STAY in the air.  
  
He bit of an exclamation as Firesong's eyes widened and Silverfox merely said, "Oh my." Starfall stared, his expression incredulous. Keisha blinked, then rubbed her eyes as though she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.  
  
Lina flew around a little, then frowned at their surprise. "What, never seen a Levitation spell before?" she asked.  
  
Darian swallowed. "No human we've ever known had the ability to fly."  
  
"What?! But it's one of the easiest spells!" Lina exclaimed incredulously. "What can YOU do?"  
  
Darian quickly constructed an illusion of himself right next to him, looking like it was breathing and moving like he was.  
  
"Wow! You can't tell them apart!" Amelia exclaimed. "How did you do that, Mister Darian?"  
  
"I think," Darian said, "this is going to be a long meeting."  
  
~*~  
  
OK, not much happened in here, but I hope you continue reading this anyway. Please review! 


	4. Chapter Four- Evil School is starting, m...

Chapter Four- Rest Can Be a Good Thing, But Decisions Are Even Better  
YIPE! People are reviewing this?! Whoa. I completely didn't expect this. Anyway, for everyone's questions yes, there will be explanations in a couple chapters so please, please be patient. Until then, enjoy the story, eh?   
  
~*~  
  
Lina sprawled out on the closest bed to the door. Well, it wasn't really what one would call a door- it was more like a trap door, as it was on the floor. The trap door was closed now, and rolled in a neat bundle right next to it was the ladder they'd used to get into the room. The sorceress wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, enjoying the chance for a brief rest.  
  
Darian and his friends had questioned them, and they had questioned him, very closely. Both sides demonstrated magic- of course, nothing offensive, just defensive magicks- until everyone was about ready to drop. Darian then told them he and the others had to think about what they were going to do, and added they could come out later for food. Someone named Ayshen was busy cooking up a storm.  
  
The thought of food made her stomach rumble. Zelgadis gave her a somewhat amused look. "We are in another world, practically being held as prisoners by strange people with different magic skills, and you somehow manage to think of food?" he asked. He was also somewhat exasperated.  
  
"Hey, magic makes me hungry!" she said defensively.  
  
"It makes me hungry too," Gourry chimed in.  
  
Everyone gave him a look. "Uh, Mister Gourry, you can't DO magic," Amelia pointed out slowly.  
  
"I know, but watching it makes me hungry!" he stated.  
  
Everyone who was standing up fell over. Then Filia got up and gingerly sat on a second bed. Zelgadis walked over to peer out the window.  
  
"Don't do that, Zel," Lina complained. "I'd rather not have you fall out."  
  
He smiled faintly. "I do fly, Lina."  
  
"Last time I tried, it was pretty hard concentrating on a spell while you're falling," she said.  
  
"Mister Firesong said the window's got some sort of magicked glass that would hold even if someone did fall," Amelia added. "Don't worry."  
  
"I'm more worried about freaking these people out, actually," Filia said, feeling a corner of one of the blankets curiously. "If they saw Mister Zelgadis flying around, they might think... well, I'm not sure what they would think, but it probably would involve asking us to leave."  
  
"Or demanding about how we can fly, and no one else here can," Lina agreed. "I just don't understand it. These guys claim they saved the world a couple times using their magic, but they can't do something so simple as flying!"  
  
"Maybe it's their time of the month, only it's constant," Gourry said.  
  
All of the girls shot him evil looks. Lina started to build energy into her palm, then remembered where she was and quickly dismissed it.  
  
They were in a treehouse, of sorts, though it was much more comfortable than any child's treehouse. For one thing, it had a trap door one could lock if one wished, and Lina wasn't so sure a child's treehouse could hold three beds. They were a couple 'stories' up in the air right now- the men's room was right below theirs, with the same furnishings.   
  
When they had broken up the conference, the group had discovered where the Tayledras settled- up in the trees, mostly. There were some underground and on-the-ground buildings, but they were mostly for people who couldn't handle the heights, for something called hertasi, and the man Darian.  
  
She took a deep breath and made sure the energy was gone. It wouldn't do to destroy something of a stranger's.   
  
It was amazing. Just a few hours ago, they'd been walking around in Seyruun. Now...  
  
Now they were in another world.  
  
It was creepy to think about. After all, why were they here? Why did the caster of that weird spell WANT them gone? Could Lina find a book with a spell-  
  
Wait. Hadn't Darian mentioned something called 'Gating'?  
  
She suddenly sat up, snapping her fingers. What if this Gating stuff could get them back? After all, their Mindspeech was like Lina's Telepathy. Why couldn't their Gating be like that odd spell that brought them here?  
  
She'd just have to ask about it the next time she saw Darian.  
  
"What is it, Lina?" Zelgadis asked. "You look like you just got hit on the head."  
  
"Yes, with an idea," she said. "I'm going to ask Darian about it."  
  
"What idea, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked curiously.  
  
Lina shook her head. "I don't want to raise your hopes. I'll tell you after I talk to Darian, if the idea can work."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"In other words," Xellos said cheerfully, "That is a secret!"  
  
Filia immediately pulled out her mace and started chasing him around. After all, one couldn't DESTROY the place, but a dent or two could easily be patched, right? "NAMAGOMI!" she screeched. She managed to hit him once before he disappeared entirely.  
  
"Damn Mazoku," Zelgadis muttered under his breath. "Always acts like he knows everything."  
  
"Huh."  
  
They were silent for a while, and Filia calmed down enough to put away her mace, straighten her dress, and sit on the bed again, fingering the fabric. Gourry leaned against one of the walls and stared across the room blankly. Zelgadis went to look out at the world they were in once again. Amelia bit her lip and seemed to be muttering to herself.  
  
Finally, there came a tap on the trap door. Everyone simultaneously lunged for it, and as a result there was much banging of heads. When everyone sat there rubbing their heads, Gourry opened the door- his head didn't hurt.   
  
"Yes?" he looked down.  
  
Darian smiled. "Heyla!" he said cheerfully. "There's food out here, if you are hungry-"  
  
"FOOD!" Lina jumped up, any head injuries forgotten. "Yes, food is good!"  
  
Darian's smile grew. "Come on down, then, and I will lead you to it."  
  
The group headed down, almost trampling Darian in the process. At one point they all tripped and fell into a little heap at the bottom of the ladder, and Xellos appeared to tease them all, and walked down ahead of them. Lina thought that for once it was a good thing Xellos kept secrets- she wasn't sure how they'd react to a demon.  
  
However, Darian was staring at Zelgadis, who got up first. The hood had fallen back, and the mask was hanging off of him.   
  
"What...?" Darian asked weakly. "What... who... are you a Changeling?"  
  
Zelgadis stared at Darian for a long moment. "I am a chimera," he said shortly, and pulled his hood back up and readjusted his mask.  
  
"Chimera?!" Darian asked, staring in confusion.  
  
"He's a third golem, a third demon and a third human," Lina whispered. "His grandfather turned him into what he is now. Don't mention it to him. He's looking for a cure."  
  
"I... but... oh," Darian said, blinking repeatedly.  
  
"I still think he looks cool," Amelia stated firmly.  
  
"Will you all not talk about me like I'm not here?" Zelgadis asked.  
  
They all stood up after untangling themselves from the pile, then Lina remembered why they'd been in the pile in the first place. "FOOD!" she hollered, and flew the rest of the way.  
  
Darian blinked again. Filia took pity on him and walked calmly the rest of the way. Zelgadis followed her. Amelia looked at Darian brightly.  
  
"Don't worry, Mister Darian, this is all quite normal behavior for everyone," Amelia said cheerfully, and walked after them. Gourry was already racing with Lina somewhere up ahead, though he was running instead of flying.  
  
~*~ Darian ~*~  
  
This was NORMAL behavior? Good gods, what was ABNORMAL like? Darian wondered this as he slowly stood and stared after the group.  
  
So, Adepts and Masters, a chimera- his head spun at the new term. And, a dragon who acted like a highborn's daughter, quite well behaved.   
  
How on earth was he expected to deal with races that he'd never heard of? And they WERE races, because they called the dragon one, Filia, the LAST of the Golden Dragons, whatever those were. All of this only calmly pointed to the conclusion they'd made at the conference; that these people really WERE from another world.  
  
He felt like he wanted to either faint, scream, ask for help, or just stand there gaping at all of it for a while.   
  
Ask for help... yes, ask for help. That was it! He smiled, suddenly realizing what he could do. After all, if these were folk from another world, it wasn't just his job to figure out what to do with them. After all, the Tayledras were in alliance with Valdemar, and since they were in Valdemar, shouldn't they send these folk to Haven?  
  
It made perfect sense. He felt like someone had lifted a weight off of him. He didn't have to make a big decision about what to do with them, after all. He could ask Herald Anda and Keisha's sister to send the Heralds a message. Then one of them could come down and escort the strangers to Haven, and there they would know what to do.  
  
Besides, no good would come of hiding them anyway, so why not?   
  
"Now I just need to tell everyone else," he murmured.  
  
~*~ Lina ~*~  
  
A number of the Tayledras were watching with curiosity, and a little disgust, as Lina and Gourry wolfed everything down. Zelgadis sat off to one side, ignoring them. Amelia tried to pretend she didn't know them. Xellos also sat off to one side, sipping a drink and sighing happily. Apparently, it was very good tea. Filia sat at Lina and Gourry's table and just drank her stuff too, politely ignoring the polite looks everyone was giving them.  
  
"Ah, thish ish sho good!" Lina babbled through the food.  
  
"Miss Lina, you're talking with your mouth full," Filia observed calmly. "I thought you learned not to do that, at least, after the past couple of years."  
  
"Hey, doeshn't bother me!" Lina said. "Wha' 'bout you, Gourry?"  
  
Gourry didn't even answer her, he was so busy stuffing his face.  
  
"Miss Lina and Mister Gourry never change," Amelia said, finally admitting defeat and slumping into a chair near their table.  
  
Lina decided to ignore everything else and focus on the food. It was exotic, it was new, and it was GOOD.   
  
However, even great food never lasts, and Lina and Gourry's silverware both claimed the last piece of food at the same time.  
  
"That's MINE," Lina said.  
  
"It's MINE!" Gourry declared.  
  
They started to duel using the silverware as small groups of Tayledras watched in amusement. Mostly, they were men between teenage years and somewhere in middle age. All of them had at least a streak of silver in their hair, and their eyes were light blues and grays. However, there were a few women, though sometimes it was hard to tell between the two genders when they were in what one of them, when asked, called "scout gear".   
  
Finally, Amelia solved the problem by taking the bit of food and eating it herself, though she knew full well what was going to happen next. She prepared a defense wall with magic as Lina said, "That- YOU TOOK MY FOOD!"  
  
"IT WAS MY FOOD!" Gourry hollered.  
  
"FIREBALL!" Lina focused. She felt the energy, though it seemed for some reason to feel- distant, like when she'd used the magic to fly with- but shook it off as dying of hunger. She fired the ball of fire energy.  
  
The blast hit Amelia's magical barrier, though she'd had to adjust the spell so it would absorb the fire, not deflect it. She had a faint expression of confusion on her face, and the barrier nearly was destroyed when the fireball hit it, but she kept it up. When she dismissed the barrier, it was with a faint look of relief. Lina wondered, somewhere in the far back of her mind, if Amelia had been draining herself, somehow.  
  
"Um, please, miss?" one of the Tayledras said shyly. He came up and tapped the enraged girl on the shoulder. "Don't harm me, but... there's lots more food right over there... Ayshen's cooking more..." He pointed down a path.  
  
"FOOD! THANK YOU!" Lina raced down the path with Gourry in tow.  
  
The Tayledras coughed and raised an eyebrow. "Do your friends normally act so..." he tried desperately to find a polite word.  
  
"Bent on finding and eating every scrap of food? Yes," Filia said. She was still calmly drinking her tea.  
  
"I see. So you are the... folk that Keisha found out in the wood?"  
  
"Yes," Amelia said. "Who would you be?"  
  
"I'm Wintersky." He nodded to her. "Anyway, I just heard from Dar'ian that they are going to be sending you to a place that can help you all out."  
  
"Where, Mister Wintersky?" Amelia asked.  
  
"Haven," he said.  
  
She gave him a blank look.  
  
"You know, Haven, in Valdemar? With the Companions and Heralds and everything?" Wintersky said.  
  
Still another blank look.  
  
"I can see you have no idea what I'm talking about. Well, you'll find out. But first, we will make sure your friends have enough to eat."  
  
"They never have enough to eat, Mister Wintersky," Amelia said, a little amused.  
  
"Ah... But please, I am Wintersky. I'm just one of the scouts." He shrugged. "And I can't be more than a year older than you."  
  
"Hard to tell, with everyone having silver hair," Filia pointed out.  
  
"Oh, that's from our Heartstone," Wintersky said.  
  
"Heartstone?"   
  
"It's what... well, did you feel any barrier when you came in?" At their nods he continued, "That's part of what it does. The Heartstone takes in magic so we can use it to build our homes and repair any damages to the land in the Pelagirs." At their blank looks he explained, "That's where we are right now, the Pelagir Forests."  
  
"Oh."   
  
"Interesting," Xellos said, and sipped more.  
  
"But what's wrong with the land to need repairing?" Filia asked.  
  
"It would be a long story... let me just say a couple thousand years ago, two mages fought, and the damages are still all over the world." He shrugged. "We were set in the Pelagirs to fix them so people could move in and use the land. What with Changelings about..."  
  
"Changeling. What is a Changeling?" Zelgadis asked quietly.  
  
"You are full of questions, aren't you?" Wintersky asked. "Well, none of them are harmful, so I shall answer. Changelings are creatures or people, or even plants who are changed into something unnatural by the harmed lands, from the old magic. Part of our... job, you could say, is to make sure they don't harm anyone."  
  
Zelgadis sipped his tea, and Amelia noted the sudden hurt in his eyes.  
  
"Ah, well, here comes Dar'ian with your friends," Wintersky said cheerfully. "I must be off. Zhai'helleva!" And with that, he walked off.  
  
"This place sounds weirder and weirder every minute," Amelia noted.  
  
"Makes sense, we ARE in another world," Zelgadis said shortly.  
  
"Now, now, why the long faces?" Xellos said cheerfully. "This is a chance of a lifetime!"  
  
Zelgadis jumped up, leaped over and grabbed Xellos, lifting him up by the collar of his shirt. "Now LISTEN, you Mazoku-"  
  
"Zelgadis, CALM DOWN!" Lina suddenly said. Everyone turned to her as she, Gourry, and Darian walked in. "Put Xellos down!"  
  
The chimera frowned, but dropped the Mazoku. Then he turned away and sat down to return to his meal.  
  
Darian cleared his throat. "We... don't know whether you want people to know where you are from or not, but there are matters that need to be taken care of," he said. "As much as we would like to help you, we cannot. So. I have spoken with Herald Anda. He is contacting someone in Haven to come and escort you to the Palace."  
  
"I asked him about Gating," Lina said quietly, "but he said it's only been done on the same plane, the same world. And now they cannot do Gates at all anyway." At everyone's blank looks she explained, "I heard him talking about Gating earlier, so I asked him. It was supposed to be an old magical way of transportation. Like... teleporting."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"In any case, they should be here in a couple days," Darian said. "In the meantime, we have built hot pools for people to relax in, we have plenty of food, and perhaps we should introduce you to a few of our nonhuman friends so you will not be startled at their appearances."  
  
The group nodded. So they at least were going somewhere, perhaps to people who would help them.  
  
Yes, food was all to the good, and rest was even better, but it was the fact that someone had made a decision about what to do next that made them all relax and decide to find out exactly how the hot pools worked.  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter Four done, wow. People actually like this. That's amazing. I hope you keep liking this! 


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